LovestheShiny!: said:
In my soil, I get about 8" on a silver dime or copper cent, a bit more on a Silver Quarter. So the APEX sounds like it might do just as well or a bit better in Multi Freq.
Just some opinions from a bit of experience.
First, I don't own an AT Pro or AT Max so I can't give an Apex comparison there.
Second, I do own at least one model from four other manufacturers and could compare depth performance, but they don't have a comparable search coil, and search coils can make a big difference.
Third, I live in Vale, Oregon, on the far east side of the state near Idaho. My ground mineralization varies and some places are kinder, but not mild or mellow. Most of the places I hunt produce a rather high Ground Phase read-out of '87' to '92', but that's with the Apex and it tends to read just a bit higher than I imagined. However, keep in mind that all detectors will have different read-outs from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Fourth, I very seldom hunt locations where coins are deeper than 6" to 7". I know they are out there, but the bulk of my hunt sites haven't had fill brought in, haven't been tilled or otherwise worked or modified, and are not subject to a build-up of leafage, nor a lot of grass clipping build-up.
Most coins are surface to 4", and the left-overs are in the 4" to 6" depth range. Only a 'stray' gets into the 6" to 8" or so depths. So far, my Apex has rewarded me with coins to 7"-8" but I feel it can do better if I get the coil over the target.
Fifth, when people say
"in my soil" it would sure be nice if they could describe where they are so readers, like me, might get an idea of the gerund make-up in various places we might like to visit.
Sixth, you made one of those 'blanket statements' I hear quite often with:
" ... or a bit better in Multi Freq ..."I've been using SMF detectors for over twenty-five years and all too often I have manage to get better depth with a Single frequency, or Single Selectable Frequency detector compared side-by-side with a SMF unit. no, not always, but far more often than many would believe.
Don't get me wrong, I own and use a couple of SMF detectors and, yes, there are times when I get good depth using their Multi-Frequency function ... however. I would never, and won't ever, credit SMF operation as being the deepest detecting mode or frequency choice. A lot depends on the target, conductivity, size and shape, ground mineral make-up, and we can't forget the coils used and the individual detector's circuitry.
I think that overall, we are going to see a lot of very satisfied consumers who have chosen the new Apex as the model to handle their needs. The only thing we need is a decent smaller-size search coil to handle trashier conditions.
Monte